


One Thing

by thehoyden



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-06
Updated: 2010-01-06
Packaged: 2017-10-05 21:24:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehoyden/pseuds/thehoyden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Competition is not limited to Go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you as always to [](http://lynnmonster.livejournal.com/profile)[**lynnmonster**](http://lynnmonster.livejournal.com/) for beta duties, audiencing, and general prodding. Thanks also to [](http://harukami.livejournal.com/profile)[**harukami**](http://harukami.livejournal.com/) for beta and audiencing, and to [](http://rageprufrock.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://rageprufrock.livejournal.com/)**rageprufrock**, for audiencing and starting sentences with the words, "Hey, you know what would be cool..."

Touya is cool and framed by his dark hair and dark suit, and he looks regal and composed in that way that Shindou is never going to be, not in a million years.

They're in the men's room, and Touya flicks his eyes at Shindou, pinning him like a butterfly. "You lost, Shindou. Are you going to honor your wager?"

Shindou won't take anyone, least of all Touya, insulting his honor like that. "Of course I will," he bites off. "One thing. I have to do one thing that you ask. So what's it going to be?"

Touya moves forward, calculating and slow. "Let me see. I could ask you to praise me in public at our next game." He offers the suggestion coolly, which only ruffles Shindou's feathers further.

Shindou grits his teeth. "If that's what you want, Touya." Damned if he'd give Touya the satisfaction of having him not pay up, no matter how embarrassing the request.

"Possibly enjoyable, but there are other things. I could ask you to beg Ogata-san for a game." Touya's eyes are measuring, dark and maybe just this side of sadistic.

Shindou has his own reasons for avoiding any future games with Ogata, and Touya has somehow picked up on this.

"I could, if I were really cruel, ask you for the biggest secret of them all," Touya says, drawing nearer, and Shindou refuses to back up. He can feel Touya's breath, warm on his face. "But as you've already promised that to me, it seems a waste of a perfectly good bet, don't you think?"

Shindou exhales with relief, although Touya's proximity is making him nervous in a completely different way.

"So this is what I want from you, Shindou." Touya seizes Shindou's face in his hands, and Shindou's eyes widen. "I want a kiss."

Shindou blurts out, "A kiss?!" before Touya's lips meet his own, hard.

***

Shindou wins the next game by the skin of his teeth, and they wind up in the bathroom again.

Touya is irritated but doing a good job of not showing it. Except for his eyes, of course -- Touya's eyes always tell Shindou what he thinks of him, for good or ill. "Well, Shindou. We did play for the same terms, so I suppose it's your turn," he says, as though he couldn't honestly give a damn.

"What could I ask Touya for?" Shindou muses out loud, like he hasn't been thinking about this for a week. He knows what he wants, but he's still not sure he has the courage to ask for it.

"One thing," Touya says shortly. "I don't have all day, Shindou."

That decides him, because they're both starting to get possessive of each other's time, and Touya knows it.

"In here," Shindou says, motioning to a stall. He shuts them both inside, and then he swallows once, to steel his nerves. "I want a kiss. And not like last time. That sucked."

Touya's eyes widen in outrage. "It did not _suck_, Shindou, that was a perfectly acceptable kiss!"

"Why don't I show you what I mean, and then we'll decide whether it sucked or not?" Shindou says, narrowing his eyes.

"Fine!" Touya says, pissed off like Shindou had just cut off one of his groups with another crazy, reckless move.

Shindou leans forward and presses Touya against the side of the stall, and seals his mouth over Touya's. He's satisfied with the pressure, for a moment, with the way that Touya's lips are both soft and yet unwilling to yield, which doesn't really describe Touya as a whole but right now, it's close. He draws back just a bit, and mutters, "Open your mouth, idiot."

"Id--" Touya says, before Shindou shoves his tongue in Touya's mouth.

It's sloppy and wet and Shindou's hands are knotted in the stiff fabric of Touya's dress shirt, and Touya is clutching at Shindou's back and making these little _noises_ that are going to be totally embarrassing if anybody walks in, but for the moment, Shindou just thinks they're really impossibly hot. Plus, Touya never took a challenge lying down, and he's giving back to Shindou as good as he gets. They're breathing hard through their noses, like breaking the kiss would be the same as resigning from a game you could still come back from.

Finally, when Shindou assays a small, deliberate grind against Touya, Touya pushes him away abruptly, panting for breath. "You said a kiss."

Shindou frowns, in between trying to catch his breath, as well. "So, better than last time?" he asks.

Touya draws a steadying breath and fixes his tie. "An improvement," he allows, tone disdainful, before he lets himself out of the stall.

***

The next game is at Touya's house, and Shindou realizes that there is something both inherently dangerous and exhilarating about the setting. Because the bathroom stall in the Go salon is one thing, but Touya's bedroom is totally something else.

They're both more determined that ever, and it really is a truly spectacular game -- one anyone would have been proud to play in, and so Shindou is not overly disappointed when Touya wins in the end. Of course, there is the small matter of the bet, and it makes his heart beat faster just thinking of what Touya might ask for this time.

"One thing," Touya says meditatively, clearing away the stones from the board. "I suppose I could ask you for another kiss."

Shindou puts the top over his goke. "If you want."

"Or," Touya says, looking up from under his eyelashes, "I could ask you for what you tried to take illegally last time."

Shindou feels his words stop in his throat, because he's been getting himself off to the same thought all week.

Touya moves to the side of the goban, still on his knees. "Though, if you're feeling generous, Shindou, those don't have to be mutually exclusive."

That's pretty much all Shindou needs to hear, and he pulls Touya forward so that they land with a thump on the tatami, Touya sprawled on top of him.

"Shindou!" Touya hisses. "My parents are home!"

"Better not make so much noise this time, then," Shindou advises snidely.

"I don't make noise," Touya growls.

"Like hell," Shindou retorts, and pulls Touya down into a kiss.

It's just as good as the week before, but better now, because when Touya sticks his tongue in Shindou's mouth, his hips grind down at the same time, and they're both so hard that Shindou is seriously afraid that he's going to come in his pants. He moves his hands in between them and grabs for Touya's belt buckle, which is probably the only thing keeping those trousers from slipping down his slim hips. Touya is quick on the uptake, and grabs for the fastening of Shindou's jeans at the same time, dragging jeans and briefs down just past Shindou's ass. Shindou does him the same favor, like he just couldn't waste time taking off clothes which could be better spent rutting against each other.

They both gasp when they rub their erections against each other, and it's just amazing -- hard, and soft, and a little wet, with Touya gasping in his ear and rocking against him, hips corkscrewing occasionally in a way that makes Shindou grab at Touya's ass and bite his lip to keep from making noise.

Shindou wants to move his legs, wants to -- god, wrap them around Touya's hips and press them both even closer against each other. The weight of Touya's balls drags against his thigh, and that added touch of reality makes Shindou lose it, makes him clench his fingers into Touya's buttocks and groan, his release spilling all over his stomach. Touya's cock slides through the slick mess of come on Shindou's stomach a few more times, before he makes a truly obscene little moan and collapses on top of Shindou, panting.

"Touya?" Shindou says, after a few minutes.

"What?" Touya asks, sounding a little muzzy.

"Good game," Shindou says, and he really does mean it -- and not just the part where they both came their brains out on the floor next to the goban.

"Thank you," Touya says, though he sounds like he can't quite believe they're having this conversation.

"My place next week?" Shindou suggests. "I'm going to _destroy_ you."

Previously, Shindou had not thought that rivalry and semen-covered stomachs went together, but that was before Touya propped himself up on one elbow and said, "Oh, please. I'd have an easier time believing that if you'd actually managed to connect in midgame, instead of letting me slice you to ribbons."

"What the hell did you just say?" Shindou demands, and then it's much like their normal post-game bickering, only this time they're both making use of Touya's tissues.

***

Shindou is pretty sure he can see the way this is going, because neither he nor Touya can settle for stagnation and being happy with past performances. Their Go is all about improving themselves by improving the other, and Shindou doesn't see why the bet wouldn't follow the same pattern.

So, he does a little research, because he'll be damned if Touya asks him for something only to get caught unprepared, just because he doesn't know what to do. On some level, Shindou is aware that it's more than a little deranged to be looking up cocksucking techniques just to one-up his rival, but he totally wouldn't put it past Touya to be doing the same thing he is right now.

Touya, goddamn him, has had the schedule from hell for the past two weeks, because he had to travel out of town for league games and cram the rest of his already insane schedule into a shortened time period. He even had to renege on their regular game twice in a row. And it's just not fair, not when Shindou can't stop thinking about those _noises_ Touya makes. If he could just play one game, if he could beat Touya -- well, even if he loses, he's still going to win, because he's willing to bet that they'll end up naked and sweaty again.

This association between Go and sex could get very dangerous, because he's playing a game with Waya but all he can think of is Touya. Touya, with his long, clever fingers and hitching moans and flushed cheeks, and god, Shindou would give just about anything to make Touya totally lose it. He wants Touya naked and open in front of him, all that regal calmness stripped away by Shindou's hands, wants to make Touya writhe and wail and give everything up for him.

"Shindou, you okay?" Waya asks. "You look like you might be coming down with something."

Shindou realizes that he'd much rather be going down on something, specifically Touya, and somehow manages to trounce Waya and get the hell out of there, back to the safety of his house and more importantly, his bedroom.

He's playing through one of Shuusaku's kifu when he hears the doorbell, and the pad of footsteps on the stairs. There's a knock at his bedroom door, and then it opens and it's Touya, looking a little rumpled and a lot tired.

"Hey," Shindou says, because it always concerns him when Touya looks like crap. Touya's so good at hiding that Shindou knows he's really got to be on his last legs to show any weakness. Or maybe he just makes an exception for Shindou, and that thought pleases Shindou much more than he thinks it ought to. "Did you eat dinner?" he asks, because he knows all about Touya and the not-eating-between-games thing.

"On the train back," Touya says. He still has his overnight bag with him.

"You came straight from the station?" Shindou asks. "Geez, Touya, you should have gone home."

"But then we wouldn't have gotten a chance to play for another six days," Touya says, smiling just a little. "Haven't you....missed it?" he asks, uncertainty touching his voice at the end.

Shindou's never cleared off the goban so fast. "Sit down before you fall down," he instructs.

They play, and it's good but it's not cutthroat, because Touya's not at his best and Shindou can't really work himself up when Touya's eyelids are heavy. Shindou wins by one moku, and Touya still looks tired, but there's anticipation in his eyes now, a sort of sleepy heat that makes Shindou want to do all the work and just let Touya lay back and moan.

"One thing," Touya says softly. His fingers are playing with the top button of his dress shirt, and Shindou's decided.

"Sit on my bed first," Shindou says. Touya looks a little puzzled but complies, and the mattress dips a little with his weight.

Shindou settles on his knees in front of Touya, and rests his hands lightly on Touya's knees. "I want...I want you to let me..." He licks his lips and stares at the erection that's tenting Touya's expensive trousers.

"_Oh_," Touya says, his voice rather strangled, like it really hadn't occurred to him that Shindou might ask for this.

Shindou figures that's permission enough, and opens Touya's thin belt and undoes the button. The zipper going down seems to be disproportionately loud, its progress punctuated by Touya's gasping, anticipatory breaths. Shindou decides that abruptly that they shouldn't be half-assed about this, not when they're alone in Shindou's bedroom and Touya's right where Shindou wants him. "Lift up?" he suggests, and Touya obediently raises his hips so Shindou can shimmy trousers and boxers down and all the way off, leaving Touya in his shirt and tie and socks.

He decides that Touya's cock looks nice -- nice shape, nice color, flushed pink against the ivory of Touya's stomach. There's a little wetness at the tip, and Shindou decides the first thing he's going to do is taste that.

Touya draws in a startled, disbelieving breath as Shindou licks experimentally at the head of his cock, and that's exactly what Shindou's been waiting two weeks to hear. And he hopes that all his research will bear some fruit and keep him from totally embarrassing himself. He wants, he realizes, for this to be really good for Touya. Because it has been two weeks, and Shindou did miss this. Him.

He wraps one hand around the base of Touya's cock and slides the head into his mouth. It's really quite amazing what even the smallest effort does to Touya -- pressing his tongue on the sensitive underside makes Touya's hands clench at the bedsheets, and swirling his tongue around the head and sucking lightly makes Touya give out the most incredible hitching little whimper. Touya's leaning back on his elbows now, seemingly unwilling to let Shindou out of his sight.

Shindou's not too sure about the next part, but Touya's limp now, having finally collapsed flat on his back. His thighs are wide open, and the guides he read _did_ say it could feel good. Shindou wets one finger in his mouth before he goes back to sucking Touya, and when Touya's head is turning restlessly from side to side, Shindou presses his fingertip in gently.

Touya might have made a noise of shock, but Shindou didn't really hear it, since he was busy trying not to choke on the flood of Touya's release in his mouth. He's a little vexed that he can't manage to swallow smoothly, but Touya's not really in a position to appreciate it one way or another.

He slowly pulls his finger out of Touya, and goes hunting for some tissue to clean off his chin. When he comes back to the bed with a handful of tissues to clean Touya off, too, he finds that Touya is out like a light.

He stares for a second, uncomfortably aware of his own aching dissatisfaction, and then sighs. After all, it _was_ what he asked for. He goes about cleaning Touya off and pulling him onto the bed properly, before taking a minute to yell down to his mother that Touya is spending the night,. He spends all of a minute thinking about it, with Touya tucked against him in bed, before he takes himself in hand and breathes in Touya's scent as he jerks off. Because there's being a gentleman, and then there's being really uncomfortable with Touya breathing contently in his ear.

***

Shindou wakes up gradually, and it's with a sense of wonder that he realizes that Touya is still sleeping, his arm thrown over Shindou's chest. He smiles, because this -- this is really something else, and he's not sure how they got from one stupid bet to Touya sleeping in his arms.

Touya's eyes flutter open, and the brief, unguarded look is quickly subsumed by panic. "What time is it?" he demands.

Shindou looks at his alarm clock. "A little after nine."

"Oh, _no_," Touya says. "I'm going to be late!" He all but tumbles out of bed, and grabs his trousers and underwear from where Shindou neatly hung them over the back of a chair the night before. He pulls his clothing on and runs his hand through his hair before picking up his overnight bag and heading for the door. Just as he's about to turn the doorknob, he suddenly backtracks and leans over the bed to kiss Shindou firmly.

"Tonight," he says. "After ten. Come to my house?"

Shindou nods silently, and Touya looks satisfied. And then he's gone, and Shindou is left alone in his bed.

"This is really screwed up," he tells the ceiling, although he's smiling so he doesn't really know what the hell his problem is.

***

Touya answers the door in a robe, and Shindou blinks for a moment at the sight of Touya, obviously fresh from the bath with his damp hair and flushed skin.

"Um. Hi," Shindou offers belatedly.

Touya waves him in like a good host, and offers to take his jacket. "I thought, since you were spending the night, you might like to make use of the bath." It's an offer that could have nothing but good manners behind it, since there's a persistent damp chill in the air, but the look that Touya slides back at Shindou as he pauses on his way up the stairs sends a shiver of anticipation through Shindou's body.

Whatever Touya's intentions, Shindou can admit that it does feel nice to have feeling return to his toes via steaming water, and terms of the bet aside, he's looking forward to a nice comfortable game. He thinks that it might be nice to play Touya every night before bed, like he used to with Sai. It's possibly a greedy thought, but Shindou's sense of boundaries with Touya is obviously going to hell anyway.

When he walks into Touya's room after finishing his bath, Touya is already seated at the goban. "Where are your parents?" Shindou asks, because it's pretty obvious they're not home. If they were, Touya's mom would have tried to feed them six times by now.

"They've been visiting with my mother's family since Friday," Touya says. "I couldn't go because of the league game." He doesn't sound particularly sorry, but if Touya's relatives are anything like Shindou's, he can sympathize. "Shall we?"

They nigiri, and Shindou's glad to see that Touya is much more alert than the night before. Touya does something funny about ten hands in, and by funny, Shindou means possibly brilliant. He responds as best he can, but he's still astonished by the sheer cleverness of the move. Touya cuts him off at the bottom right, and Shindou stares at the board for awhile.

"Shindou, quit admiring me and play," Touya grouses.

"Who's admiring you?" Shindou scoffs in return, but neither of them really means it. Shindou just feels plain happy, a moment of brightness, because Touya's strengths will be his own, and they'll never stop moving as long as they push and pull each other along.

Touya takes the game neatly, and as soon as Shindou resigns, he points at the funny hand and asks, "What the hell was _that_?"

Touya laughs low in his throat, sounding genuinely delighted at having surprised Shindou for once. Touya's a demon on the goban -- he's known for being frighteningly competent and insightful. It's usually Shindou who comes up with the harebrained, madcap moves that make everyone question his sanity. "My opponent during my second match this weekend did that, although much less effectively during yose," Touya says critically.

Shindou thinks it over. "It's better earlier, you're right," he says. He's not surprised to hear it's not an original idea, but Touya's forte is assimilation of new techniques and innovation of old ones.

They start to clear off the board at the same time, and Shindou is trying to convince his heart that beating faster really isn't necessary. "One thing," Shindou says, looking across the goban at Touya.

Touya motions toward the futon laid out on the tatami near by. It's the only one there. Shindou swallows once, and makes his way over to sit on it.

"Lay down," Touya says softly. "On your stomach, please."

Shindou's heart thumps faster, and he eases himself down. He tries to think of what Touya wants, but for the first time, he's a little nervous, because he's not ready for _that_.

Touya's hands smooth over Shindou's shoulders. "Shindou," Touya says, his tone soothing. "Relax."

"I'm relaxed," Shindou lies, his words muffled in the pillow. "You won the bet. One thing."

He feels Touya's hair brush against the nape his neck, silky soft. "Shindou. Forget the bet. I wouldn't ask you for something you weren't ready to give me."

Shindou shivers a little, because Touya's words send warm breath ghosting over his ear.

"Shindou, do you trust me?"

And there's only ever been one answer to that. "Yes," Shindou says.

"I want you to let me do this for you," Touya says, and with last night's words aimed back at him, Shindou finally lets himself go limp.

Touya pulls the neckline of Shindou's robe back, and explores the skin there with lips and tongue and teeth. Shindou squirms a little, because he never had any _idea_ how sensitive the nape of his neck was before Touya started getting acquainted.

One of Touya's hands is stroking down his back, and it's kind of soothing, except for the part where the _other_ hand is slowly inching the hem of Shindou's robe up his thigh. Shindou shudders a bit as Touya's cool, Go-callused fingertips smooth up the back of his thigh, and he's still not altogether certain about this, but he's willing to wait and see.

Touya's fingers are starting to roam, tracing over Shindou's hips and dipping between his thighs to brush his balls, which makes Shindou give an undignified squeak and buck his hips, wordlessly begging Touya for more. Touya's apparently not in the business of being cruel, because he tugs Shindou's hips up so he can reach under and curl his hand around Shindou's erection. And when he pulls at the sash holding Shindou's robe shut, Shindou lets him go for it, because he's forgotten entirely about being doubtful of Touya's intentions.

Shindou's head is pillowed on his arms, and he's already gasping before Touya starts sucking at the skin at the base of his spine, licking and nibbling a little while his hand moves slow and steady over Shindou's cock. It's not as fast as he needs, and definitely not as fast as he wants, but it's still good and he's rocking into the motion, trying to get more.

Touya suddenly lets go, and Shindou moans in frustration. "Tou-ya," he complains, wiggling a little as if to remind Touya that he was in the middle of something very important. Touya stills him with one hand on each buttock, and his mouth moves lower, licking the skin as he goes.

Shindou's still waiting for Touya to quit messing around and get back to jerking him off, when he begins to realize what Touya might be up to. The realization is mostly aided by the fact that Touya has shifted his grip so that he's holding Shindou open, and his tongue is swirling at the top of the crease of Shindou's ass. "To-touya," he stutters, not sure if he should pull away.

Touya doesn't respond immediately, or at least not with words. He runs his tongue in teasing, careful licks down Shindou's ass, and Shindou's breath hitches when Touya runs his tongue around Shindou's hole. "Touya," he says again, not sure if he's pleading for him to stop or to continue.

"You said you'd let me," Touya murmurs, laving at Shindou's hole with the flat of his tongue, before returning to neat little licks. "You did something like this to me. Don't you want to know how this feels?"

The image of Touya from last night flashes through his mind, Touya hot and panting and crying out while Shindou sucked his cock and thrust a finger in his ass. Touya takes that moment to push his tongue inside, and Shindou surprises himself by making a totally embarrassing moan. Whatever misgivings he had have been banished by Touya thrusting his tongue in and out, withdrawing to trace the rim of Shindou's hole, only to plunge back in.

Shindou can never, ever tease Touya for making noise again, because he realizes that the keening noise is coming from him, and he's pushing back now, desperate for more Touya's clever, clever tongue. The soft, wet sounds of Touya's licking and sucking seem to echo in the room, and Shindou thinks he could get off on those alone. He's _shaking_ and he sobs, great shuddering breaths, before his knees give out and he slumps forward.

Touya moves with him, shoves Shindou's thighs apart to make room for himself in between, and pulls Shindou's cheeks apart to drive his tongue back into Shindou's hole. Shindou can't think, can hardly breathe -- all he can do is grind forward into the futon, push back at Touya, and then finally go still and taut, whimpering as he comes, messy and hard.

He's dead, he's sure of it. He's never going to be able to move again.

"Shindou, roll over," Touya says, his voice strained.

It takes him a few moments, but he does manage to turn over onto his back. And when he does, his eyes widen as he takes in the sight of Touya kneeling, thighs spread open and teeth biting lower lip as he jerks off. "You did this," Touya pants. "Last night."

"You were asleep!" Shindou says, but he doesn't sound very accusing. And he thought he was dead, but Touya is...well, he doesn't know how anybody would be able to look at him and stay away.

He moves forward, and Touya shakes his head. "One thing," he says, moaning as he works his hand faster.

"Fuck that," Shindou snarls, and bats Touya's hand out of the way to wrap his mouth around Touya's cock. He barely begins to suck when Touya comes in his mouth, and he's not any better at swallowing this time around, but at least he can wipe his face off on Touya's robe. Touya watches him do it with glazed eyes, and Shindou figures that if he moves fast, he can get them cleaned up and under the covers before they both pass out.

In the end, they settle for stripping off their robes, and Touya says something about doing laundry before his mom comes home.

"Yeah, okay," Shindou says, pressing a sloppy kiss to Touya's cheek.

A moment later, Touya says, "Shindou, was it okay?"

Shindou yawns and snuggles closer, his nose buried in the silky strands of Touya's hair. "It was you," he says, and that's all the explanation he can manage before he falls asleep.

***

Things settle into a nice sort of rhythm. There's Go, there's Touya, and there's some really stupid emergency make-out sessions in the Go salon bathroom. Just when Shindou thinks he's got a handle on things, and might be in control of his body, Touya angles a look over his shoulder, and Shindou's mouth goes dry. He's been spending so much time sleeping over at Touya's that his mother has taken to leaving an extra futon in Touya's closet, which is a nice gesture but ultimately sort of useless, because he always sleeps curled around Touya, anyway.

They haven't had an official match since before all this started, but they have an Ouza league match next week. Shindou wonders if it will feel different now, but strangely, he can't imagine how it would. Touya is Touya.

"And Shindou is Shindou," Touya murmurs drowsily, and Shindou realizes he must have said that aloud. "Are you worried about the match?"

Shindou doesn't answer; he just holds Touya a little tighter.

"Well," Touya says, "You shouldn't be. I'm going to beat you, of course." He's nearly asleep, and his hair is tickling Shindou's collarbone.

"Like hell," Shindou says tenderly.

***

For all that he loves the games they play almost nightly, there is nothing that will ever, ever compare to playing formal matches against Touya. Shindou isn't sure he could explain it, precisely. It calls to mind all sorts of overblow metaphors -- it's like flying, it's like sex. It's like sex in public. Not that Shindou would know, really, unless he counts the time he went down on Touya in the bathroom.

In any case, he has never felt more alive than sitting across from Touya. He's kissed those slim fingers, he's sucked them into his mouth like he does with Touya's cock, but right now, those fingers place stones on the goban with devastating skill. Shindou knows people are there watching them, but he can't see them for Touya and the pattern of stones between them. He hears Touya's even breathing as he reads the shape taking form, and prods and pokes a path toward Touya.

When he sits back finally and says, "I resign," there are no tears in his eyes. He knows he shouldn't be grinning like a maniac after he lost an important match, but what else could he do after such a game? He can hear people gasping and chattering in the background, and he knows they're talking about them -- knows, too, that this match will be the talk of the Go world for awhile.

Touya thanks him for the game, and his so-serious expression melts into a little smile, too.

Shindou lost, but he feels closer to Touya now, like if he just pulled himself a few more handfuls along, he could reach where Touya is. He lost, but he knows he's going to win someday, and then he'll lose again, but he's never going to stop chasing Touya.

They don't really talk about it, but after they've gone through discussion of the game and fended off Touya's well-wishers and Shindou's would-be comforters, they head out the door together. Only to have a red sportscar pull up in front of them, and Ogata opens the door and tells them to get in.

Ashiwara is in the passenger seat, so Shindou and Touya squish into the non-existent backseat. "You did so well tonight, the both of you," Ashiwara gushes. "_Such_ a match!"

"Shall we take you out to celebrate?" Ogata asks.

"They're only nineteen!" Ashiwara protests. Ogata doesn't really look like this bothers him.

"No, thank you," Touya interrupts politely. "If you could just take us back to my house, we'd appreciate it."

It's dark and they're crammed together anyway, so Shindou surreptitiously grabs a hold of Touya's hand. He feels a little breathless, and in the mood to celebrate, albeit not Ogata-style. Although, judging from the way that Ogata's hand is resting on Ashiwara's seat, maybe he does, after all.

Owing to Ogata's questionable driving, they're at Touya's house sooner than Shindou would have expected. The house is dark, and Shindou remembers that Touya's parents are off again, which is probably the only reason that Touya hasn't agitated further to move out. Once inside, Shindou starts to feel just a little bit nervous about his plan. It's kind of a stupid plan, but Shindou finds he wants to mark the occasion. Make a statement. Do something to let Touya know.

They've kicked off their shoes and slid on house slippers, and Touya pauses by the doorway to the kitchen. "Tea?" he asks, and Shindou nods, because a few more minutes to steel his resolve would probably be a good thing.

Touya has just put he kettle on, when Shindou decides he'd be better off just getting it over with. "Touya," he says quietly.

Touya brushes a hand over Shindou's shoulder on his way to getting the tea cups. "Hmm?"

"You won tonight. If we were still playing by the bet, you'd get one thing," Shindou says, trying not to hesitate over his words.

Touya locks eyes with him, and there's quite a bit of heat there. "I suppose so."

Shindou takes a deep breath, and says all in one breath, "Youwannagoalltheway?"

It's the one thing they haven't done, the one thing neither of them felt comfortable asking for. Shindou can do it, though. He can do it for Touya, tonight.

Touya is staring at him, even as the kettle begins to whistle obnoxiously. "Could you repeat that?" he says faintly.

That just makes Shindou cross. "Look, it's not a big deal. If you want to...fuck me, that'd be fine."

Touya's eyebrows raise further, and in lieu of answering, he retrieves the kettle and sets about making the tea. When he sets the cups in front of them, he sits and takes a deep breath. "Shindou, when I do that -- when we do that -- I want it to be because we're ready. I want it for the right reasons."

Shindou is confronted with the horrifying thought that he and Touya are not on the same page. "What do you mean, the right reasons? You're the most important person in my life -- what the hell other reasons do I need?"

Touya blushes, pink and really frightfully attractive. "You...you're the most important one in mine, too. But I want us to do it because we really want to, not just because you're coming down from game adrenaline."

Shindou looks down at his tea cup. "Oh," he says. That was more than he'd been expecting to hear, really. He'd thought they'd just go on as they had been, letting their bodies do the talking, but he's really glad to hear Touya actually say something. And then he frowns. "But you do want me, right?"

"Shindou," Touya says, his tone dryly amused, "that's like asking me if I want Go."

"Oh," Shindou says again, a little awed.

They finish their tea, in mostly comfortable, drowsy silence, and then Touya stands and says, "Shall we go up to bed?"

Shindou yawns a bit, and follows Touya to his room. "Hey, Touya. One more game?" he asks.

"You're half-asleep," Touya chides, pulling out his futon out of the closet.

Shindou yawns again, despite himself. "M'not. Come on, Touya, just one more?"

Touya settles on to the futon, and pats the space beside him. "Shindou, we're both tired. Come to bed. We've got all the time in the world to play more games."

Shindou yields, just this once, but mostly because he yawns again. When he lies down next to Touya and pulls Touya closer, he murmurs, "Hey Touya, you still won. You want me to maybe..."

"Shindou," Touya says, somewhat exasperated. "Fine. One thing. Go to sleep."

"Okay," Shindou says, and closes his eyes.


End file.
